The present invention relates to a solid-state imaging device, a manufacturing method thereof, an electronic apparatus, and a semiconductor device.
Electronic apparatuses, such as digital video cameras and digital still cameras, include a solid-state imaging device. For example, the solid-state imaging device includes a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) image sensor and a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) image sensor.
In the solid-state imaging device, a plurality of pixels is arranged on the surface of the semiconductor substrate. Each pixel is provided with a photoelectric converter unit. The photoelectric converter unit is, for example, a photodiode which receives the light incident on a light-receiving surface through an external optical system and generates a signal charge by photoelectrically converting it.
Among the solid-state imaging devices, the pixels of the CMOS sensor are configured with a pixel transistor in addition to the photoelectric converter unit. The pixel transistor is adapted to read the signal charge generated from the photoelectric converter unit and output it to the signal line as an electric signal.
In the solid-state imaging device, generally, a photoelectric converter unit receives the light incident from the surface side of the semiconductor substrate where a circuit or interconnect is provided. In this case, it may be difficult to improve sensitivity because the circuit or interconnect blocks or reflects the incident light.
For this reason, a “rear illuminated type” is proposed, in which the photoelectric converter unit receives the light incident from the rear surface opposite to the surface where the circuit, interconnect, or the like of the semiconductor substrate is provided. (e.g., refer to Japanese Patent Application Unexamined Publication Nos. 2003-31785, 2005-150463, 2005-268238, 2005-285814, and 2008-182142)
In such a rear illuminated type, in order to receive the light incident from the rear surface with high sensitivity, a photodiode is provided on a thin-filmed semiconductor substrate.
In order to manufacture a semiconductor device such as the aforementioned solid-state imaging device, a plurality of chips is formed to be arranged side by side on a semiconductor substrate (wafer). Then, the chips are divided by dicing them using a blade along a scribe line located around the chips.
In the dicing process, the divided chips may suffer from chipping such as cracks or exfoliation, and it may degrade product yield.